Grevillea juncifolia Hook ssp. juncifolia

Voucher:  JAB147, JAB149    

Family:  Proteaceae.  Common name(s):  Honeysuckle spider-flower

Habit: Shrub or small tree 1-7 m tall.  Distribution: Widespread in central Australia and in all mainland states except Victoria.

General features: Density 900 kg/m3.  Heartwood red and darker than sapwood. 

Microscopic features:

Vessels  Tangential vessel diameter: range 11-67 µm; mean 18 µm; SD 8 µm; average maximum 29-43 µm; n =  1505 vessels.  Vessels per square millimetre not recorded for wood in tangential bands (IAWA 1989: 259).  Vessels in tangential bands and clusters.  Perforation plates simple with prominent rim.   

Axial parenchyma  Axial parenchyma banded.  Banded axial parenchyma with a bandwidth not commonly larger than ray width.  

Rays Rays 5-17 cells wide with uniseriate rays absent (n = 23 rays).  Rays of two distinct widths and wider than vessels.  Rays 2-6 per tangential mm (n =   24 sampled areas).  Ray height not recorded but can measure greater than 1 mm. Silica present in ray cells.

Helical thickenings  Present.

Physical and chemical tests:  Chrome azurol-s test negative.   Heartwood fluorescence absent or possibly a weak pink fluorescence.  Froth test weakly positive to positive or negative.   Ethanol extract fluorescence absent.  Water extract discoloured or colourless.  Water extract fluorescence absent.